The creature's narrow lips parted, and it drew a long hissing breath, breath composed of the nightly visions of many.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Enter Spirix...
"Huhwhaa...?" Spirix jolted upright in his soft bed of pine needles and moss. His dreams had been strange, full of shadows... He shuddered, and crept out of his bush den.
The young, upright feline's unusually long fur was, even in the strong light of the full moon, dark black, save for his tuxedo of a white face, chest, belly and paws.
Spirix swiveled one ear toward a sudden sound, then dismissed his clan leader's yowl with a flick of his tail. Nicodemus would be fine, he hoped.
For nearly half a moon, something had been disturbing the clans nights, allowing almost no cat to sleep at night. Spirix, Nicodemus, the clan leader, and one other cat had been affected most by the eerie haunting.
"Spirix?"
Spirix started as a young apprentice padded up to him, interrupting his thoughts.
"Yes?"
"Spirix, why can't I sleep? You're clan seer, so I thought I could ask you..." the little tortoiseshell's voice trailed off.
Spirix smiled warmly at her. "Thanks, TigerLily. Anyway, I think there's something out in the forest that's stalking us, something that we can't sense...," he yawned, then continued, "Perhaps you should go ask Nicodemus, it sounds like he's awake."
Spirix nodded toward the split rock where the Maine Coone nested, then padded back to his nest, pausing only to chew some herbs to help him to sleep.
